The rise of the moral economy in early modern Europe

Lomas, J. M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5047-5824 (2026) The rise of the moral economy in early modern Europe. In: Akrivou, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2212-6280 and González-Cantón, C. (eds.) Elgar Business Ethics Encyclopaedia. Edward Elgar Publishing. (In Press)

Abstract/Summary

This chapter traces the historical development of the moral economy (as defined in this work) and examines its re-emergence in modern approaches to poverty alleviation through philanthropy and microcredit. It argues that the moral economy operates as a recurring ethical response to periods of market excess and institutional failure, reasserting values of fairness, reciprocity, and responsibility when economic life becomes detached from moral restraint. Drawing on thinkers such as Thompson, and Polanyi, the discussion situates moral economies within the wider tension between capitalism’s self-regulating tendencies and society’s moral counter currents. Through case studies of nineteenth-century philanthropy, cooperative movements, and twentieth-century microfinance, it explores how ethical motives and market mechanisms intersect in attempts to humanise economic relations. Ultimately, the chapter argues that the moral economy represents not an alternative to capitalism but its conscience, a persistent reminder that the pursuit of wealth must remain inseparable from the pursuit of the good.